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A drink with Alden Cudanin, master of mashup photography

Then and now pictures are always cool, but digital photography has made it possible to merge them into something cooler still. Sipping cocktails we learn how Alden Cudanin does it, and why

Mashup of Sam the Record man is multi-layered, with glimpses of hoarding from recent demolition bracketing the Sniderman era and the ghost of a 19th century shop front. (Alden Cudanin / torontobefore.ca)

Bicycle mashup highlights how little bicycles have changed in a hundred years. (Alden Cudanin / torontobefore.ca)

Fashions, and streetcars, have changed, but some things haven't. There was hustle and bustle at Queen and Yonge then, and there is now. (Alden Cudanin / torontobefore.ca)

Scenes of streetcar tracks being rebuilt were common in North American cities a hundred years ago. Toronto is one of the few where such scenes are still part of the urban landscape. Mashup shows Wellington St., looking east from Yonge. The Flatiron building in the distance, now with a mural painted on its west wall, bridges both eras. (Alden Cudanin / torontobefore.ca)

To learn what someone really thinks, you take them for a drink. This week:photographer Alden Cudanin of torontobefore.ca, who has been mashing up archival photos of Toronto with those of the present, giving life to static then & now photos, at Toronto Temperance Society, 577 College St.

Q: You mentioned the Internet was a starting point for you, in terms of access to images. Growing up, were you a history buff?

A: I loved going to Black Creek Pioneer Village as a kid, but what really stands out for me are Toronto colouring books I had in the mid-’80s. There were two or three of them. They had the Flatiron building, neighbourhoods like Little Italy. I coloured the Flatiron, wondering where it was, and it wasn’t until I was old enough to venture out on my own that I came across it.

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Q: What are the challenges in making the mash-ups? Is synching the two photos difficult?

A: I used to print out the picture, take it with me and hold it up, figure out the same spot where the photographer stood. But sometimes it’s difficult because the camera I’m using is really different from the cameras of the past. It throws things off. Depending on the vintage, certain cameras had a longer exposure, so you’d see trails of moving cars.

Q: Your pictures emphasize the hustle and bustle of city living. How do people look in the modern photos?

A: Busy. They’ve got somewhere to go. In the older pictures, I tend to see them strolling along. There’s one I did at Queen and Yonge, and you see the hustle and bustle of today. There’s this lady walking by, and her arms look like she’s in a rush. Coming towards her is a lady from 1915 and is actually looking at the modern lady.

Q: Almost ghostly. What do you look at when walking along the streets?

A: I’ve learned to always look at the top of the buildings, the second storeys. Not only do you see dates, but you see original architecture. (On) some of the buildings that I saw walking here (today) you can see where certain things were restored, and where certain things are still the same.

Q: Is there a particular series of photos that you like working with?

A: There’s a lot to see in the TTC photos from the early ’20s, when they were fixing and installing the tracks.

A: If you’re on the lookout for a particular building, you can find it there.

Q: What have you learned from others doing these mash-ups?

A: One of the things I’ve learned is to not to always look for the iconic buildings. Find the places that people might know about but don’t see very often. The east end, north of the city. I just finished a set on the Esplanade — some of those neighbourhoods that have been around for a long time. It’s important for me to look at the neighbourhoods and move away from the downtown.

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